City confirms Mercer Street site for new HQ

THE City of Greater Geelong will partner with a private developer to build a new administrative office for the council at Mercer Street in central Geelong.

The decision, made during last week’s council meeting, was in line with the recommendations of a project advisory committee made up of eight councillors.

The council has also confirmed its preference to be the owner of the new headquarters, rather than renting it.

The city will now work with a developer or developers to build the offices and other facilities on the site at 137 Mercer Street.

The committee identified its preferred site – which is already owned by the city – after a detailed five-month process, including a month-long public consultation period.

Having invited expressions of interest from developers and investors, the committee considered all options and found 137 Mercer Street was the best suited, based on the site size, accessibility and availability, civic presence, site opportunities and constraints; and the site’s ability to support economic development through the further revitalisation of central Geelong.

The council has also agreed that City Hall should be made available for an extension of the Geelong Gallery once the city’s staff have relocated, with part of the building to be retained as a civic space for meetings and ceremonies.

The new city headquarters has been budgeted at $91 million – to be funded via a combination of loans, sale of surplus assets, and increased revenue from existing commercial properties – and is projected to save about $2.8 million a year in rental costs alone.

The project has been scoped to include 10,000sqm of office space, 300sqm of ground level retail space, and 120 car parks.

Speaking during the launch of the 2018 Word For Word festival, city mayor Bruce Harwood said the new civic accommodation was, much like the Geelong Library and Heritage Centre, an opportunity to create a building that the community owned and was proud of.

“It will be a true and iconic statement to the region of what we actually produce for the community.”

Interested parties should contact Peter Anderson on 5272 4188 for more information.